Youth Development Action Plan 2019 2021 - Surf Coast Shire
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“AS THE WORLD CHANGES
WITH UNPRECEDENTED
SPEED, YOUNG PEOPLE ARE
PROVING TO BE INVALUABLE
PARTNERS WHO CAN ADVANCE
MEANINGFUL SOLUTIONS.”
Ban Ki-moon (then United Nations Secretary-General)
Youth Development
Action Plan 2019 – 2021
Nurturing the adults of tomorrow
So, what’s it like
growing up in 21st
century Australia?
Is it noticeably different
for young people living
in Surf Coast Shire
compared to the rest of
the country?
Today’s young people are the first generation How can we work together as a community to
born into the digital revolution. They have lived support our young people in navigating the new
their entire lives with the internet, grown up with challenges of today to become the best versions of
the evolution of social media and experienced the themselves tomorrow?
opportunities afforded by accelerating innovations
This action plan outlines the steps Surf Coast
in digital technology.
Shire Council will take over the next three years to
address these questions.
AUSTRALIA’S YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY
Numerous studies confirm that young Australians The Resilience Project reports the amount of
are facing challenges. information today’s young people receive in a week
equates to what their parents at the same age
Mission Australia’s 2018 youth survey identified
would have received in a year with.
the top three issues of personal concern for young
people as:
94% of Australians between 14 and 17 own
a smart phone (Roy Morgan, 2016)
1 IN 3 regularly use their phone
between 10pm and 6am (Resilient
Youth, 2018)
STRESS SCHOOL MENTAL
OR STUDY HEALTH.
PROBLEMS
Beyond Blue’s latest data indicates that:
ACCORDING TO THE
• 1 IN 5 young people has LATEST CENSUS,
experienced depression before
the age of 18 ABOUT 5,000 YOUNG
1 IN 7 aged up to 17
experiences a mental health PEOPLE LIVE IN
condition in any given year
1 IN 6 between 16 and 24
SURF COAST SHIRE,
currently experiences an
anxiety condition; one in 16
REPRESENTING
depression
14% OF THE TOTAL
Youth suicide remains the leading
cause of death among young people. POPULATION.
SURF COAST’S YOUNG PEOPLE IN 2019
Education-wise, there are two local Limited local employment opportunities also
secondary schools: see many young people leaving the shire after
completing their education.
• Surf Coast Secondary College in Torquay
opened in 2012, reaching full capacity in 2018. The personal issues that most concern our young
Current forecasts indicate student numbers people in the latest Surf Coast Shire Youth Survey
will be well above 1,000 by 2021. are:
• Lorne P-12 College has seen a steady increase • Relationships
in student numbers over the past four years
• School stress
and currently has 100 students in years 7 to 12.
• Mental health issues.
Secondary students who do not attend either of
these local schools travel into Geelong for their These correlate directly with the Mission Australia
education. Since the nearest university and TAFE results.
institute are both located in Geelong, tertiary
students are also required to travel or even to live
away from home to pursue their studies.
OUR CURRENT PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Surf Coast Shire Council currently coordinates the following programs through its
Youth Development team:
Youth Lounge runs after The Pod is a converted shipping The FReeZA program is
school hours during the week container that is transported funded from a government
at the Kurrumbee Myaring around the shire to provide grant to support young people
Community Centre in Torquay. young people living in smaller in the fields of music and arts.
It provides a space where young townships with a dedicated local Funded until December 2021,
people can socialise, play music meeting space. Its locations FReeZA activities are youth-led
and talk to team members. and opening times are based on with support from the Youth
community needs. Development team.
Engage! is funded by the Victorian Youth Week is an Good Times, Great Breaks
Victorian Government to annual week-long celebration is Surf Coast’s harm minimisation
help young people to actively of young people and the program targeting the more
participate in and connect contributions they make to their than 4,000 school leavers who
with their local community, communities. The Surf Coast visit the shire in November/
including via skills and knowledge Youth Awards are presented as December each year to celebrate
development, pathways to part of Surf Coast’s Youth Week finishing school. The Youth
employment, training and activities. Development team plays a vital
education, and improved health, role in ensuring they return
wellbeing and social connection. home safe.
Engage! is funded until
December 2020.
WHAT’S NEXT? KEY FOCUS AREAS
Council’s three-year Youth Development Action Connection to community and services
Plan focuses on achieving three interrelated
• Arts and culture
outcomes:
• Mental health
Strong connections between our Youth
Development team and young people, their • Employment
families, schools, sporting clubs, community groups As current United Nations Secretary-General
and health and wellbeing services. António Guterres said in 2018, “The hopes of the
Council acting as a respected and influential broker world rest on young people. Peace, economic
to ensure our community has the services it needs. dynamism, social justice, tolerance — all this and
more, today and tomorrow, depends on tapping
Prevention and intervention programs that help
into the power of youth.”
our youth thrive.
We can all play a role in nurturing Surf Coast’s
young people to achieve their full potential now
and in future. This plan provides a framework for
how we will fulfil this role over the next three years.
COUNCIL’S YOUTH DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2019-21
To create strong connections To act as a respected and To run prevention and
between the Youth influential broker to ensure our intervention programs that
Development team and young community has the services it help our youth thrive.
people, their families, schools, needs.
sporting clubs, community
groups and health and
wellbeing services.
KEY FOCUS AREAS AND RELATED ACTIONS LINKS TO COUNCIL PLAN
(relevant strategic objectives)
Connection to community and services – We will:
• Operate youth-specific places, including Youth Lounge, Youth Pod and pop-ups. a) Support people to participate in and
• Facilitate the FReeZA program. contribute to community life.
• Facilitate the Engage! program. i) Ensure infrastructure is in place to
• Continue to work in partnership with Surf Coast Secondary College and Lorne support existing communities and
P-12 College to implement programs. provide for growth.
• Continue our involvement in Australian Youth Week.
• Be accessible via current and emerging communication channels.
• Survey young people regularly.
• Continue our involvement in school leavers’ safety response.
• Advocate for improved transport services for youth in rural communities.
• Foster young people’s positive interest in the environment by creating
opportunities for them to be involved in local initiatives.
• Actively participate in actions related to examining options for a dedicated
youth facility, identified as a high priority in the Torquay-Jan Juc Social
Infrastructure Study.
Arts and culture – We will:
Facilitate the FReeZA program and meet funding objectives. Support people to participate in and
contribute to community life.
Mental health – We will:
• Arrange local parent workshops and seminars to upskill parents. d) Provide support for people in need.
• Work with agencies to bring services to the Surf Coast.
• Facilitate mental health initiatives within the Engage! program.
• Offer programs to build the capacity of young people so they can better
support themselves and their peers.
Employment – We will:
• Work with young people, schools, local businesses, community groups and d) Provide support for people in need.
sporting clubs to identify skills that should be targeted.
• Bring service providers to communities where young people live as opposed to
young people having to travel outside of Surf Coast Shire.
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